Build a balloon-camel simulator for an LED Burning Man totem
Author used ChatGPT for reference images and Claude Code to build a Go balloon physics simulator with a web frontend, with Claude looping on screenshots and camera control.
Done withClaude Code
- What they did
- The author used ChatGPT to generate reference images and prompts, then had Claude Code build a Go physics simulation of balloons streaming geometry to a web frontend. Step one was nearly one-shot; step two added multiple balloons with twists. Claude-in-Chrome positioned the camel and took screenshots, used an HTTP camera endpoint, and watched a web comment box through Claude Code's monitoring feature.
- How it went
- The simulator worked and exported models, but the result looked like a cross between a poop emoji and an alien dildo, not Koons-like. The author switched to learning Fusion360 Forms with a balloon-dog tutorial.
- Worth knowing
- The simulator is hard-wired to dromedary camel topology; generalizing it was left undone, and pure physics doesn't produce Koons-style art without distorting the model.
Try it yourself with Claude Code
Help me build a simulator of [object or creature made of balloons or lights] for my [art project] with a web frontend. Use my reference images in [folder] and build a basic physics model, then take screenshots of the result, compare them to the references, and refine until it looks right. Finished means I can open the page locally, rotate the camera, and see the model respond. Check with me before installing new tools.
Source: HN · Aug 7, 2026
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